Wine by Pete Ste­wart

Over the last cou­ple of weeks in this col­umn, I’ve been rec­om­mend­ing Baro­los and Bar­barescos from Piemonte, and Chi­antis and Brunel­los from Tus­cany. I couldn’t pos­si­bly move away from Italy with­out men­tion­ing a de­cent Amarone from Veneto, or my favourite Aglian­i­cos from Cam­pa­nia in the south.

Amarone della Valpo­li­cella tends to be a blend of Corv­ina, Moli­nara and Rondinella, and is made in a big rich style us­ing grapes that have been par­tially dried in the sun to con­cen­trate the flavours and boost the al­co­hol. It’s also a go-to wine if you’re buy­ing for a con­nois­seur as it is known as a good, and ex­pen­sive treat. You’ll also find Re­cioto della Valpo­li­cella (a sweeter ver­sion) and Valpo­li­cella Ri­passo which is a lighter and more af­ford­able wine from the same pro­duc­ers.

Amarone Clas­sico Costasera Masi 2012 (Ma­jes­tic, £37). This is as tra­di­tional as they come with the wine­mak­ing knowl­edge be­ing passed down the gen­er­a­tions of the Boscaini fam­ily. It’s a big, lush wine with a long, dry fin­ish and it’s the per­fect part­ner to a hearty rab­bit stew. If you have any left, try a wee glass with the harder cheeses on the cheese­board. It works par­tic­u­larly well with parme­san.

Aglian­ico is the most noble red grape grown in Cam­pa­nia, where it is re­spon­si­ble for the DOCG wine, Taurasi. You’ll also find good ex­am­ples from Basil­i­cata la­belled as Aglian­ico del Vul­ture. Like all the best Ital­ian red grapes, it makes a full bod­ied wine with good tan­nins and a de­cent acid­ity in the glass. The wines are very food-friendly es­pe­cially when part­nered with lamb, or a warm­ing cas­soulet.

Terre­dora di Paolo Aglian­ico IGT 2016 (Waitrose, £12.99). This is a great ex­am­ple of the style, and it’s half the price that you’d ex­pect to pay for a Taurasi. The vol­canic soil of the area adds min­er­al­ity and a cer­tain grav­i­tas to the wine. Try this with a lamb ragu, and you’ll be im­me­di­ately trans­ported to the Amalfi Coast…and all for just £12.99. Saluti!